Collapsible egg cases



March 3, 1964 T. G. MAlRS 3,123,276

COLLAPSIBLE EGG CASES Filed Aug. 9, 1962 INVENTOR B; M mam.

4f 42 40 G. 6 X ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,123,276 COLLAPSIBLE EGG CASES Thomas G. Mair-s, St. Paul, Minn., assignor to Waldorf Paper Products Company, Ramsey, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Filed Aug. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 215,869 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-41) This invention relates to an improvement in collapsible egg cases and deals particularly with an economical paperboard case which may be delivered in fiat form and which may be readily unfolded and opened up for use. Numerous forms of egg cases have been produced capable of containing thirty dozen eggs. With the cost of labor increasing, pressure has been exerted upon the manufacturers of such cases to simplify the setting up of such cases at the point where the cases are packed. One of the cases which is most readily set up is one in which the end walls are connected to the bottom wall by gusset flaps which form a part of the bottom wall when the case is set up, but which fold inwardly when collapsed to prevent the bottom and end walls to fold together along a central fold line. The present invention deals with a collapsible case of this type.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a body shell which is rectangular and which is provided with a foldable partition intermediate the end Wall. The upper hand of this body sleeve is provided with closing flaps to close the upper end of the case. The bottom panel is formed in a separate piece and is connected to end wall liner panels which lie inwardly of the end walls of the body sleeve to reinforce the end walls and to increase the compression strength of the case. The bottom panel is provided with narrow flanges which are secured to the lower ends of the body sleeve by stitching, gluing or the like.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a case in which the closure flaps are hinged to the end walls and are provided with diagonal fold lines to simplify the operation of interleaving the closure flaps to hold them in closed position without the use of tape or adhesive.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be more fully and clearly Set forth in the following specification and claim.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the egg case in closed position.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view through the case, the position of the section being indicated by line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view longitudinally of the case, the position of the section being indicated by the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic view of the case in partially set up condition.

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic view of the blank from which the body sleeve is formed.

FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatic view of the blank from which the bottom of the case is formed.

With reference to FIGURE 5 of the drawings, the body shell includes a side wall panel 10, an end wall panel 11, a side wall panel 12, a second end wall panel 13, a side wall panel 14, and a partition panel 15 which are foldably connected along parallel fold lines 16, 17, 19, 20 and 21. An anchoring flap 22 is provided on the end of the partition panel 15 and connected thereto along the fold line 23. The end wall panels 11 and 13, and the partition panel 15 are of approximately the same width. The side wall panel 14 is approximately one-half the width of the opposite side wall panel 12, and the side wall panel is slightly wider so as to overlap the side wall panel "ice 14 to form the rectangular outer shell. The anchoring flap or flange 22 is stitched or adhered to the inner surface of the opposite side wall 12 to form an outer shell divided into two compartments of substantially equal size.

The wall panels 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 are foldably connected along their upper edge by the line of fold 24 to side and end wall closing flaps 25, 26, 27, 29 and 30 respectively. The side wall closing flap 25 overlaps the closing flap 30 to form a closing flap having a generally central seam or overlapped joint.

The end walls 11 and 13 are divided into two equal sections by fold lines 31 and 32 respectively. Fold line 31 is midway between the fold lines 19 and 20. The various closing flaps are separated in the usual manner by slots, and the fold lines 31 and 32 extend across the fold line 24 so as to divide the closing flaps 26 and 29 into equal sections. Diagonal fold lines extend across the flap 26 from intersection of fold line 24 with the fold lines 16 and 17, these diagonal fold lines converging and being indicated by the numeral 33. Similar diagonal fold lines 34 extend across the end wall closing flap 29, converging from the intersection of fold line 24 with the fold lines 19 and 20, respectively. Hand holds 35 are provided through the end walls 11 and 13, intersecting the fold line 31 and 32 as illustrated.

The bottom forming member is shown in FIGURE 6 and includes a bottom panel 36 which is foldably connected along parallel fold lines 37 to end wall liner panels 39. As this element is symmetrical both wall panels are identified by the same numeral. The bottom panel 36 is connected by a fold line 40 which is at right angles to the fold lines 37 to side wall flanges 41. Where the flanges 41 are secured to the inner surfaces of the side walls of the outer shell, these flanges 41 are centrally notched as indicated at 42 to accommodate the lower edge of the partition panel 15. These notches 42 may be omitted if the flanges 41 are secured to the outer surfaces of the side walls.

The end walls 39 are provided with hand holds 43 which register with the hand holds 35 when the case is formed. A central line of fold 44 extends longitudinally of the blank between the sides thereof, the fold line 44 extending across the bottom panel 36 and the end wall liner panel 39. While the panels 39 have been described as end wall liner panels to differentiate from the end walls of the outer sleeve, it is believed obvious that the panels 39 could be secured outwardly of the sleeve end walls 11 and 13 if it were so desired.

Diagonal fold lines converge inwardly from each corner of the bottom panel 36, these diagonal fold lines being at substantially 45 degrees between the side and end fold lines 40 and 37, and extending to the center fold line 44. These fold lines 45 define triangular gusset flaps 46 on either side of the center line 44 which fold inwardly between adjoining portions of the bottom panel 36 when the case is collapsed.

The bottom forming section is usually attached to the side wall sleeve when the sleeve is in rectangular form, the end wall liner panels 39 being folded inwardly of the end walls 11 and 13 and being secured thereto in a suitable manner such as by staples or stitches 47 indicated in FIGURE 1. The flanges 41 are folded inwardly of the side wall panels and are stitched or otherwise secured thereto as indicated at 49. This completes the case by folding the center portion of the end walls inwardly as indicated in FIGURE 4 of the drawings, and simultaneously folding the gusset flaps 46 inwardly toward face contact, the case may be collapsed to a substantially fiat form. The partition panel 15 is centrally divided by a fold line 50 so that this panel can simultaneously collapse.

In the use of the case, the case is folded from its collapsed form when the shell is in rectangular form, the usual fillers and flaps placed in the two sections in superimposed layers to properly support the eggs. The top of the case may be closed in the conventional manner and taped or otherwise secured if it is so desired. However, if it is preferred, the flaps may be interlocked together as indicated in FIGURE 1, with one-half of each end wall closing flap overlying a different one of the side wall closing flaps. During this operation, portions of the end wall closing flaps are folded along the diagonal fold lines 33 or 34 which greatly simplifies others interlocking.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my improvement in collapsible egg cases, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that changes may be made within the scope of the following claim without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

A collapsible egg case including a one piece body shell including, in series,

a first side wall, an end wall, a second side Wall, a second end wall, a third side wall, a partition panel, and an anchoring flap,

said third side wall being approximately one-half the width of said second side wall and secured in overlapping relation to said first side wall to form a rectangular body,

said partition wall extending parallel to said end walls and said anchoring flap being secured to said second side wall to form two compartments within said rectangular body,

closure flaps hingedly secured to the upper edges of said side and end walls,

a one piece bottom structure including a bottom panel,

end wall liner panels secured to the end edges thereof and pairs of flanges secured to the side edges thereof,

means securing said end wall liner panels in face contact with said end walls,

means securing said flanges in face contact with said side walls, one flange of each pair extending on one side of said partition wall, and the other flanges extending on the other side thereof,

said end walls, end wall liner panels, and wall closure flaps, bottom panel and partition panel having central lines of fold therein parallel to said side walls, and the ends of said bottom panel being diagonally creased along fold lines converging from the corners of said bottom panel to said central line of fold therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

